I have moments in this world when I'm instinctively sure that something good is going to happen to me. Finding the new Pedestrians Of Blue EP, "The Second Monologue", in my mail box recently, resembled such a moment from the word go!
Hiding inside subtle, but very classy artwork based on the images of autumn leaves and branches, you might be forgiven for thinking that the EP appeared somewhat out of season, but there is little about this package that appears as anything but spot-on!
Since the band's initial one-way conversation, "Circles of Butterflies - The First Monologue" (2002), bass player Rudolf Fredly and drummer Harald Levang have rounded out Pedestrians Of Blue as a full band. The band also chose to rope in Lydriket's Geir Luedy to mix "The Second Monologue", with mastering being handled by Mika Jussila at famed Finnish studio Finnvox in Helsinki, the production, however, still courtesy of principle songwriters Johannes Stole and Torfinn Sirnes, vocals/keys and guitar respectively.
Opener "The Garden" may start off deceptively low-key with its filtered guitar, clever sequencing and Stole's highly melodic vocal lines, but there's no mistaking a hard rock band at work once all instruments kick in two verses later. At that very instant, the quantum leap in sheer sound quality is also apparent: Pedestrians Of Blue as of 2005, sport a clear, spacious and big mix, which drives "The Garden" into a classy chorus - immediate enough for the AOR fan and at the same time not too syrupy for the prog rockers out there. Sirnes and Stole also neatly intertwine guitar and keyboard leads throughout the last half of the song - complementing ... as opposed to overdoing.
"Father & Son" establishes a fairly spooky scenario with its first instrumental 30 seconds, segues into a more driving verse, and evolves into a gloomy, but haunting chorus. There's a Queensrÿche-ish hint to this, but the subsequent church organ-adourned guitar riff is more genuinely contemporary than the abovementioned Seattle rockers ever managed for themselves. Stole's heartfelt bridge vocals then lead us into a brilliantly understated guitar and orchestral interlude - solemn ... and the perfect dynamic counterpart to the song's otherwise heavy riffs. Nearly gothic in atmosphere, but still supremely melodic - a variety of rock fans should be able to find something they like here!
"World of Things", the EP's final track, erupts like a sweaty nightmare, keyboard flurries sounding the part of autumn leaves whirling wildy, as if in a storm. A calmer, more reflective verse makes its appearance eventually, and Stole gets to showcase his emotive, classy vocals all the way through the chorus, before Sirnes pulls off a neat, harmonized solo, Brian May waving in the distance. The doom laden intro riff rears its head again afterwards, as the song intensifies through a final verse and a chorus towards its climax, driven home sophisticated, but still powerfully. The song skeleton may be melodic rock, but it is fleshed out in an arrangement suitable more progressive.
All in all, this may well be the most exciting Norwegian release I've encountered this year. Pedestrians Of Blue morph seemingly without effort from classy to contemporary, melodic to heavy - diversified, but still impeccably focused. Great songs, excellent sound and all the musicianship and appropriate atmospherics to go with it - in short: Essential!
A footnote regarding the lyrics: The 3 songs represented here are all part of a 12 song cycle, ultimately intended to form the basis of the band's first full length album. "The Garden" and "Father & Son" stand alone the best lyrically, with "World of Things" perhaps appearing somewhat confusingly out of context here. The entire concept, however, makes for compelling reading, its cleverness as much in what is alluded to, as in what is actually said. So I encourage anyone vaguely lyrically inclined to dig a little deeper here - you will be rewarded if you do!